hanging on for you
by TennantDoctor
Summary: A quick one-shot, re-uploaded after a weird happening with paragraphing. The Doctor is in trouble, but even though Donna is gone, she still manages to help her Spaceman.


He was clinging on with the last ounces of strength in his body.

The hostile aliens had cornered him on the top of a large gorge in the Tru'tania jungle after chasing him for what seemed like miles, pointing their spears and swords at him. He'd tried to babble his way out of it but lost his footing as they aggressively pushed him backwards, and he fell.

The stone was rough and sharp, yet somehow, he managed to grasp at the edge of the gorge before toppling over and falling. He would slowly slip if he moved too quickly or any feeble attempt to try and scramble his way back to safety.

The Doctor was _scared - _and that did not happen very often. Especially not when he was supposed to be experiencing the more leisurely offerings of this planet.

Licking his wounds was never a good idea. It only brought more trouble.

"Leave him there, he'll fall eventually!"

"The rocks below will 'ave him!"

The alien scavengers had left him there ten minutes ago.

The Time Lord was trying to be as still as he could, his long, lanky body, which was usually a flurry of motion, frozen. His lower-half dangled over the two-hundred-foot drop whilst his upper-half clung to the slanted piece of the cliff with his nails scrapping against the hard surface. His breathing was heavy and shallow all at once, his two hearts racing frantically in his chest. He knew he was only one wrong move away from falling into the pits of regeneration.

Or worse.

His brown eyes could look nowhere else but the rock he was gripping onto, afraid to chance a glance up at the climb in front of him. He couldn't see. But he had to try... he had to move.

With a grunt, the Doctor tried to push himself up and over the verge, both hands grasped onto the hard surface tightly, mainly wherever he could feel some sort of a purchase or perhaps a dent in the rock that could support him.

"Come on..." he heaved, the slow and feeble effort managing to secure him a few inches further to the top. He gingerly moved his right leg, attempting to find a stable purchase somewhere on the rock with his foot.

That was until his left hand refused to take the strain anymore and he lost his grip. The Doctor let out a yell as he slithered back further, only just managing to cling onto the rock again before sliding too far back. Loose dust and gravel fell with the movement, cascading down the side of the gorge to the pits of boulders below. His chest heaved in fear.

"Don't fall… don't look down… don't fall…" was all he could repeat to himself. His converse-clad feet were dangling uselessly below him as he tried once more to reach for some sort of purchase. But he failed miserably and groaned in frustration. His body was already starting to wear from the effort of trying to climb to safety and keeping himself from falling.

He was strong… but there were limits.

A heavy breath escaped the Doctor's lips as his forehead lowered to the cold stone. He'd experienced countless dangerous situations, having so many close-calls in his long, long life, and being alone through many of them was hardly anything new. But now, there was nobody to help him, nobody to save him. Both patience and strength were wearing thin for the Time Lord.

Only weeks prior, Donna would have been by his side. But now, she was gone. And in that moment, it hurt – it hurt more than when she had fell towards him in the TARDIS after wiping her memory.

No… nothing could hurt him more than that. He'd lost Rose Tyler, pushed away Martha Jones… now Donna was gone, too.

_Don't you dare fall! _

His breathing became less frantic as Donna's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. It was easy to think of the things she would say to him in a situation like this. She had been his best friend, after all.

Her feistiness, her compassion, her determination… she should have been there with him, yet she was gone.

_Come on, Spaceman, I've seen you fight off hordes of alien scum, what's one little cliff gonna do?!_

The voice was getting louder in his mind as he clung on desperately, gritting his teeth in an effort to block out the searing pain in his joints and muscles. But he refused to block out the reiterated words of his lost friend.

_If you fall, I will find a way to slap you on the way down!_

She had always done everything in her power to help him. Now he needed to help himself. Donna may not have been there, but she would not have stood for any cowardice or fear. Not from him. Not ever.

_Climb up!_

With a groan, the Doctor focused into the depths of his strength to slowly begin pulling his body up once more, trying to pin-point the safest ridges or rocks to take his weight. His arms shook with every tentative move, sweat soon gathering on his brow. He could feel the material of his suit scratching on his chest and stomach as he slithered further upwards.

A shuffle and a kick earned the Time Lord an advantage to grip further up the ridge and, after another few seconds of struggling, he finally began to feel less and less likely to slide into the empty cataclysm below him. His dangling body began to emerge on the secure ground.

_That's it, Spaceman… almost there. _

A cry of determination raged as his knees finally found the edge of the cliff and he was able to slowly crawl further to flatter ground, leaving the wide-open drop behind. Dust lathered his suit and every limb was shaking until he eventually collapsed onto a patch of grass with an exhausted heave.

_There you go, you big old Dunce– what did I tell you? _

A tired yet relieved look spread onto the Time Lord's face as he cautiously tried to get to his feet, but his arms and legs still shook, and he only managed as far as a kneel. The viscous scavengers were long gone so he knew he was safe – for now. A few moments to catch his breath would be nice – he wasn't as young as he used to be, after all.

After a few moments of peace, the Doctor turned to survey the large gap in the vast wilderness he had just escaped, running a hand through his messy and now slightly dampened hair.

"Thank you, Donna."


End file.
